Way Back Home
by TiTivillus
Summary: Dean held no illusion over the fact that he would be a tumbling, depressed, self-loathing, suicidal mess if it wasn't for the Sasquatch lying next to him on that mattress. Because Sammy had saved his life, had cured his twisted, demonic soul from the dark forces that had held it encased. One-shot. Season-10. Brotherly fluff.


_**Title: Way back home**_

**Summary: **_Dean held no illusion over the fact that he would be a tumbling, depressed, self-loathing, suicidal mess if it wasn't for the Sasquatch lying next to him on that mattress. Because Sammy had saved his life, had cured his twisted, demonic soul from the dark forces that had held it encased. One-shot. Season-10. _

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to the show. Just borrowing the characters for a little while ;)

**Warnings: **K+ for language

**Author's notes: **_Just a brief take on the boys finding back together after Dean is cured from demon-ism (is that even a word?^^ ) I might wanna add a few more one-shots as the season proceeds, so stay tuned if you're interested ;) Enjoy!_

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><p>Morning rolled around and Dean awoke with a lazy smile on his lips, feeling well-rested after a nice and relaxing night without nightmares; no dark figures chasing him, no black eyes staring back at him from his own mirror image, no accusatory looks in the dying eyes of his countless victims.<p>

For the first time in what feels like eternity, Dean opened his eyes to the world with a new spark of life boosting him forward.

And the reason for that newly found confidence was currently draped all over his memory foam, snoring lightly into the extra-fluffy pillows of Dean's bed.

Sammy.

Dean held no illusion over the fact that he would be a tumbling, depressed, self-loathing, _suicidal mess _if it wasn't for the Sasquatch lying next to him on that goddamned mattress.

Because Sammy had saved his life, had cured his twisted, demonic soul from the dark forces that held it encased for the past couple of months.

And more than that, Sam had also helped him cope with the overwhelming guilt of the cruelties his demonic self had committed, had listened to him when he needed to talk, had held him when words were no longer enough to comfort him and then talked about his own experiences from the time of their separation.

So Dean wasn't afraid to admit that waking up like this, in his own room with his little brother by his side, felt satisfying in a way that no one-night-stand or drinking bender ever could.

Rubbing his stiff neck, Dean straightened up and brushed popcorn crumbs from his lap.

He smiled a little, remembering the small food fight Sam had initiated the night before, by throwing a well-aimed piece of popcorn at Dean's forehead and watching it bounce off his face with a smug smile on his lips.

Needless to say, that had meant war and Dean had payed his little brother back in kind.

Even now, Dean could still see the remaining fragments of squished popcorn tangled in Sam's hair and sticking to his skin.

With no small amount of fondness in his eyes, he grabbed a discarded blanket from the ground and covered his brother's long body with it, before switching the TV off on his way out.

The whole bunker was deadly silent and engulfed in darkness with no daylight coming in from the outside.

Dean made a beeline for the kitchen, easily finding his way through the dark hallways until he felt cold tiles beneath his bare feet and flicked on the fluorescent light.

He took in the pile of dirty dishes next to the basin and shook his head.

It was bowls, mostly -some of them still covered with the dried remains of milk and soggy cornflakes. _'Please tell me you didn't just live on that cereal crap, Sammy...'_

A brief glance into the freezer confirmed Dean's suspicion when he found nothing but a half-empty bottle of milk and a foul and wrinkled cucumber sitting on the otherwise empty glass shelve. _'Seriously, kiddo? A cucumber?'  
><em>  
>Dean sighed, having already noticed his kid brother's weight loss; the way Sam's cheek bones were more pronounced, the way his collar-bone and ribs stood out from beneath his pale skin...<p>

He should have known better than to assume the kid would take care of himself while trying to find a way to save him.

Making a quick decision, Dean headed back to the living room and grabbed his jacket and car keys from the small stand beside their leather couch.

He would only be gone for half an hour or so, doing some basic grocery shopping to stock them up on some **real** food, before Sammy kneeled over of malnutrition.

Just in and out- Sam would never notice him gone.

Or at least that's what he told himself as he closed the heavy door to the garage behind him.

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><p>Dean was balancing two paper bags full of groceries in his arms, as he pushed through the doorway about an hour after he left.<p>

If the old lady hadn't taken so long to find the right amount of cash in her goddamned purse, Dean could have made it in half the time, but some things you just can't control.

At least he had gotten to ride his baby again for the first time after he got her back in shape and tuned her up.

Apparently his demonic self hadn't appreciated the Chevy quite as much as Dean himself did and ever since he was cured Dean had wasted no chance to fix her up, oil her, wash her and treat her with all the love and respect she deserved.

More than once Sam had found his big brother beneath the Impala late at night, working on her instead of getting some well-needed sleep.

'You know she's just a car, right?" his little brother would ask.

And Dean would snort in indignation, claiming that the Impala was more than just that; that she was family.

Sam could deny it as much as he wanted, but Dean knew that deep down inside his brother had missed the sweet purr of his baby just as much as Dean himself had.

Dean wriggled out of his jacket, dropping the grocery bags on the kitchen table when Sam came tumbling into the room, his eyes wide with shock and horror, hair sticking of his head in wild angles.

"Where the hell have you been?!" his brother shrieked and Dean raised his eyebrows, looking stunned by the dramatic greeting.

"Went to get some stuff from the 7/11, because dude- whatever the hell you've been living on for the past couple of months, has to go. That shit is downright toxic-"

"CHRISTO."

Dean's breath caught in his throat. For a second, the world stopped spinning and it was only just the two of them, seemingly lost in time.

Nothing happened, of course.

Dean didn't feel the slightest bit of pain, when only a few weeks ago the word would have sent him into an anguished frenzy.

Sam was breathing so hard beside him, Dean thought his heart might give up from exhaustion.

A few more seconds ticked by, before Dean suddenly averted his gaze, dropping his head in a mixture of shame and regret.

His cheerfulness had lasted for a grande total of 3 hours today, until it was brutally ripped away from him again. That must have been a new record.

"Dean, I-" Sam fumbled awkwardly, running both his hands through his long hair as he sank into one of the kitchen stools. "I woke up and you were gone- I'm sorry man, I thought you were-"

_'...running off to kill more innocents?' _Dean thought to himself, the guilt and hatred inside of him flaring to new life as he thought about all the poor souls he had slaughtered when he was a demon.

How could he have let himself think- even for just a second, that he and Sam could ever go back to the way things were _before. _How could he have thought that Sam would ever trust him again, after what he had done- after what he had _**become.  
><strong>_  
>He was so goddamned stupid.<p>

"Dean I'm sorry... " his brother repeated, sounding genuinely apologetic.

Dean thought about running- throwing the door of his room closed behind him in anger just like Sam had after the whole angel-possession fiasco. But that would only lead to more tension and Dean didn't want to risk another crisis with his brother when things have been going so well the last couple of weeks.

"I went to the store to buy some groceries. That's it, Sam. No need to have a panic attack."

Even as he spoke the words, he realized his mistake, instinctively knowing he shouldn't have said that last part out loud. Sam got up from his seat so fast, the chair almost toppled over.

"No need to have an _attack_?! Do you have ANY idea what I've been through while you were off having the time of your life with the king of hell?!"

"Sam-"

"No you fucking listen to me, Dean. I am glad to have you back, man- you will never know how thankful I am for that, but you can't just disappear without as much as a note or a phone call and expect me not to freak out after what happened."

Dean looked at his brother, taking in the myriad of emotion in his hazel eyes, the unhealthy pallor and gauntness of his skin and realizes- not for the first time- that he wasn't the only one suffering from the mark's consequences.

His brother had watched him die (again), had been faced with his demonic self- the cruel, bloodthirsty killing-machine he had transformed into - and had endured it all without complaint. But Dean could read it in his eyes- Sam didn't have enough strength left to go through all of that a second time.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking..." Dean quietly admitted, taking three eggs out of the carton box and cracking them on the frame of the frying pan.

He heard Sam's soft sigh and closed his eyes, feeling stupid for his own naïvete.

For thinking they could go back to being brothers again, when Sam didn't even trust him enough to do some simple grocery shopping without going darkside again.

His eyes started to sting, and Dean blamed it on the cooking fumes, until a large body appeared next to his, broad bony shoulders gently brushing his own.

"It smells really good, you know? I haven't had real breakfast in a long time..."

Dean knew a peace-offering when he heard it

He hesitated only a second before giving in to his brother's silent plea for forgiveness.

"Yeah I kind of figured that after I found the cereal cemetery in here this morning."

Sam's laughter was warming him from the inside, easing the choke-hold on his heart until he could finally breathe again.

"Dude! You have no idea... Cas was starting to lecture me about the lack of nutrition in cornflakes, because I was hardly eating anything else" Sam snorted, shaking his head. "He even threatened to make me a sandwich once or twice."

Dean felt his own lips twitch into a hesitant smile, remembering Cas' penchant for sandwich-making when the angel had been off his rocker after taking on Sam's lunacy a few years ago.

He stirred the eggs with a wooden spoon, while Sam spiced them up with the pepper mill.

Sam put some Toast into the toaster and Dean poured steaming coffee into their favorite cups- milk and sugar for Samantha, while his own remained black and bitter- just the way he liked it.

When they sat down across from each other, with loaded plates of breakfast, stomach grumbling at the sight and smell of so much food, Sam stole a forkful of eggs from Dean's plate and Dean threw a small chunk of bread at Sam's chest and the tension from earlier evaporated as suddenly as it had come.

Sam groaned around each forkful of food as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted and Dean felt strangely humbled by his brother's antics.

"You know that we still have a whole season of Game of Thrones to watch tonight, right?" Sam asked, pouring them both another glass of orange juice.

Dean snorted in amusement. "I wasn't the one sleeping through the best parts, Sammy. Besides, I'm not gonna put up with your snoring for much longer. You have your own room, kiddo, so stop trying to take over my memory foam."

"Yeah right, because it's so great to feel like you're sleeping on quicksand!"

Dean's voice rose in fake indignation "Quicksand?! I don't have to take that from a guy who thinks popcorn is a second-rate movie snack. No wonder Cas was trying to be your nutritionist..."

Sam laughed, throwing his head back in earnest joy and for a moment things between them were better than they have been in years.

Sure, they still had oceans of dark water under the bridge, but for the first time in so long, Dean allowed himself to believe that they would work things out between them.

The END.

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><p><em>Just another short thing that came to my mind. Hope y'all liked it :) Reviews are always appreciated! :D<em>


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